1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a wireless repeating apparatus, and more specifically, to a wireless repeating apparatus for receiving digital information by way of electromagnetic waves and for transmitting the received digital information to another apparatus by way of electromagnetic waves.
2. Description of the Related Art
Very recently, various models of wireless repeating (relaying) apparatuses capable of repeating (relaying) digital information in the form of electromagnetic waves have been developed by lots of manufactures and are commercially available. FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram for indicating an arrangement of one conventional wireless repeating apparatus. In FIG. 6, reference numerals 108a to 108c show conventional repeating apparatuses, and reference numeral 102 denotes an information transmitting/receiving unit. The information transmitting/receiving unit 102 receives information transmitted from the wireless repeating apparatus 108a by way of electromagnetic waves, and also transmits the received information to another wireless repeating apparatus 108c by way of electromagnetic waves.
Reference numeral 107 represents an information temporarily storing unit. The information temporarily storing unit 107 temporarily stores thereinto the information received by the information transmitting/receiving unit 102, and outputs the temporarily stored information to the information transmitting/receiving unit 102 when information is transmitted. Reference numeral 104 indicates a channel switching unit for switching channels of electromagnetic waves to be transmitted/received. Also, reference numeral 105 represents a control unit for controlling an entire arrangement of the wireless repeating apparatus 108b to provide a function as the wireless repeating apparatus. Reference numeral 106 indicates an external connecting unit for connecting an information processing apparatus 110 such as a personal computer to the information temporarily storing unit 107 so as to supply/receive information between the information processing apparatus 110 and the information temporarily storing unit 107. Each of the wireless repeating apparatuses 108a to 108c is arranged by the information transmitting/receiving unit 102, the channel switching unit 104, the control unit 105, the external connecting unit 106, and the information temporarily storing unit 107.
Next, the operation of these wireless repeating apparatuses 108a to 108c will now be explained. In this case, the following operation case is first exemplified. That is, the wireless repeating apparatus 108b receives information which is transmitted from the wireless repeating apparatus 108a provided on the transmission side by way of electromagnetic waves, and then transmits this received information to another wireless repeating apparatus 108c as the reception side in the form of electromagnetic waves. It should be noted that each of the wireless repeating apparatuses 108a to 108c repeats electromagnetic waves. The respective wireless repeating apparatuses 108a to 108c are connected to the information processing apparatus 110 and are operable as wireless transmitters/receivers.
In the case that digital information produced from the information processing apparatus 110 is received via the wireless repeating apparatus 108a by the information transmitting/receiving unit 102 by way of electromagnetic waves, the control unit 105 of the wireless repeating apparatus 108b instructs the information transmitting/receiving unit 102 to receive the electromagnetic waves transmitted by the subject wireless repeating apparatus 108a. In response to this instruction, the information transmitting/receiving unit 102 is brought into such a condition that this information transmitting/receiving unit 102 waits for information in a channel designated by the channel switching unit 104.
When the information transmitting/receiving unit 102 of the wireless repeating apparatus 108b receives the electromagnetic waves transmitted from the wireless repeating apparatus 108a, the information processing apparatus 110 dispatches digital information to the wireless repeating apparatus 108a. The wireless repeating apparatus 108a transmits the received information to the information transmitting/receiving unit 102 of the wireless repeating apparatus 108b by way of electromagnetic waves. As explained above, the digital information transferred by way of the electromagnetic waves of the wireless repeating apparatus 108a is received by the information transmitting/receiving unit 102 of the wireless repeating apparatus 108b and then is stored in the information temporarily storing unit 107.
When an amount of information temporarily stored in the information temporarily storing unit 107 exceeds a predetermined amount, the control unit 105 instructs the information transmitting/receiving unit 102 to transmit the information stored in the information temporarily storing unit 107 to another wireless repeating apparatus 108c. Then, in the case that the information transmitting/receiving unit 102 of the wireless repeating apparatus 108b receives the transmission instruction issued from the control unit 105, this information transmitting/receiving unit 102 commences the transmission to the wireless repeating apparatus 108c in the channel designated by the channel switching unit 104. Subsequently, the wireless repeating apparatus 108b repeatedly performs the receiving/transmitting operations of the digital information until the transmission of the digital information dispatched from the information processing apparatus 110 is accomplished.
In the case that the wireless repeating apparatus 108a is connected to the information processing apparatus 110, this wireless repeating apparatus 108a functions as either a wireless transmitting apparatus or a wireless receiving apparatus. When the wireless repeating apparatus 108a functions as the wireless transmitting apparatus, the transmission information is supplied from the information processing apparatus 110 via the external connecting unit 106 of the wireless repeating apparatus 108a to the information temporarily storing unit 107 of the wireless repeating apparatus 108a so as to be stored into this information temporarily storing unit 107.
In such a case that an amount of information stored in the information temporarily storing unit 107 of the wireless repeating apparatus 108a exceeds a predetermined amount, the control unit 105 of the wireless repeating apparatus 108a instructs the information transmitting/receiving unit 102 to transmit the information stored in the information temporarily storing unit 107 to the subject wireless repeating apparatus 108b. 
Then, in the case that the information transmitting/receiving unit 102 of the wireless repeating apparatus 108a receives the transmission instruction issued from the control unit 105, this information transmitting/receiving unit 102 commences the transmission in the channel designated by the channel switching unit 104 of the wireless repeating apparatus 108a. Subsequently, the wireless repeating apparatus 108a repeatedly performs the receiving/transmitting operations of the digital information until the transmission of the digital information produced from the information processing apparatus 110 is accomplished, and also all of the information stored in the information temporarily storing unit 107 of the wireless repeating apparatus 108a have been completely transmitted.
When the wireless repeating apparatus 108a functions as the wireless receiving apparatus, the control unit 105 of the wireless repeating apparatus 108a instructs the information transmitting/receiving unit 102 of the wireless repeating apparatus 108a to receive the electromagnetic waves transmitted by the subject wireless repeating apparatus 108b. In response to this instruction issued from the control unit 105, the information transmitting/receiving unit 102 of the wireless repeating apparatus 108a is brought into such a condition that this information transmitting/receiving unit 102 waits for information in a channel designated by the channel switching unit 104 of the wireless repeating apparatus 108a. 
The information transmitting/receiving unit 102 of the wireless repeating apparatus 108a receives the electromagnetic waves transmitted from the wireless repeating apparatus 108b, and receives the digital information transmitted by way of the electromagnetic waves. Thus, while the information transmitting/receiving unit 102 of the wireless repeating apparatus 108a receives the electromagnetic waves sent from the wireless repeating apparatus 108b, the digital information transferred by way of the electromagnetic waves is stored via the information transmitting/receiving unit 102 of the wireless repeating apparatus 108a to the information temporarily storing unit 107 of the wireless repeating apparatus 108a. 
When an amount of information temporarily stored in the information temporarily storing unit 107 exceeds a predetermined amount, the control unit 105 of the wireless repeating apparatus 108a instructs to transmit the information stored in the information temporarily storing unit 107 of the wireless repeating apparatus 108a to the information processing apparatus 110 via the external connecting unit 106.
Upon receipt of the transmission instruction issued from the control unit 105, the information transmitting/receiving unit 102 of the wireless repeating apparatus 108a reads out the digital information from the information temporarily storing unit 107, and then starts to transfer this read digital information via the external connecting unit 106 to the information processing apparatus 110. Subsequently, this read/transfer operation is continuously carried out until the reception operation of the information transmitting/receiving unit 102 of the wireless repeating apparatus 108a is completed, and also all of the information stored in the information temporarily storing unit 107 of the wireless repeating apparatus 108a have been transferred.
In these conventional wireless repeating apparatuses 108a to 108c, the information transmitted from the information processing apparatus 110 via the wireless repeating apparatus 108a is received by the wireless repeating apparatus 108b, and then this received information can be transmitted from the wireless repeating apparatus 108b to another wireless repeating apparatus 108c by way of the electromagnetic waves.
However, although the above-described wireless repeating apparatuses 108a to 108c are equipped with the function of the electromagnetic wave repeater, the function of the wireless transmitter, and the function of the wireless receiver, the communication counter parties are fixed. Then, the information to be sent from the wireless repeating apparatus 108a to 108c is transmitted from the information processing apparatus 110 every time the information transmission request is issued from the external appliance. As a consequence, even when the same information is repeatedly requested, the information processing apparatus 110 is required to be operated every time such a request is issued. Thereafter, this may cause the workloads given to both the information processing apparatus 110 and the wireless repeating apparatuses 108a to 108c to be increased.
Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and therefore, has an object to provide such a wireless repeating apparatus. That is, while not only storage information to be repeated by way of electromagnetic waves is temporarily stored but also a series of information is stored which is transmitted from an information processing apparatus and a portable wireless information terminal, this wireless repeating apparatus can directly transmit the stored storage information even plural times to a transmission request source in response to a transmission request issued from an unspecified portable wireless information terminal.
A wireless repeating apparatus, according to the present invention, is featured by such a wireless repeating apparatus for receiving information to be repeated, which is transmitted from a wireless communication apparatus provided on a transmission side by way of electromagnetic waves, and also for transmitting the received information to be repeated to a wireless communication apparatus provided on a reception side by way of electromagnetic waves, comprising: information storing means for storing thereinto information; and storage information transmitting means for reading the storage information from the information storing means in the case that a transmission request of the storage information is received from an external wireless communication apparatus, and for transmitting the read storage information to the external wireless communication apparatus functioning as the transmission request source by way of electromagnetic waves.
Also, the wireless repeating apparatus is featured by that the wireless repeating apparatus is further comprised of information receiving means for receiving information which is transmitted from the external wireless communication apparatus by way of electromagnetic waves; and the information storing means stores thereinto the received information.
Also, the wireless repeating apparatus is featured by that the wireless repeating apparatus is further comprised of information receiving means for receiving information which is transmitted from the external wireless communication apparatus by way of a cable; and the information storing means stores thereinto the received information.
Also, the wireless repeating apparatus is featured by that the information storing means temporarily stores the information to be repeated which is transmitted from the wireless communication apparatus provided on the transmission side by way of the electromagnetic waves.
Also, the wireless repeating apparatus is featured by that the wireless repeating apparatus is further comprised of information temporarily storing means for temporarily storing thereinto the information to be repeated which is transmitted from the wireless communication apparatus provided on the transmission side by way of the electromagnetic waves.
Also, the wireless repeating apparatus is featured by that the wireless repeating apparatus is further comprised of transmission control means for transmitting the repeating information in high power when the repeating information is repeated, and for transmitting information-dispatching information in low power when the information-dispatching information is transmitted.